About Emily Cassulo

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) — This Mother’s Day weekend, one Tupelo family is celebrating by sharing their story of survival.

Nearly two weeks ago, the father and daughter were caught in the tornado as it touched ground.

Michael Gammel was eating lunch when he was warned to take cover, as the tornado quickly approached Tupelo.

He knew his 10-year-old daughter, Ally, was at piano lessons nearby and he rushed to pick her up.

The two knew they wouldn’t make it in time to their house, so they quickly pulled into a nearby neighborhood where their family lives.

For the next few minutes, the father and daughter waited out the tornado in his now totaled truck, while trees and powerlines snapped all around them.

Ally was on the phone with her mother during the pandemonium.

“She was like, ‘What’s happening?’ because I was screaming in terror, and my dad was saying ‘Dear God, dear God,’ and then my mom was like, ‘Are you OK? What’s happening?’ and I didn’t answer her, but when we parked, I said we are at Grandma’s right now, but I don’t think she heard me. I kept on saying ‘Bye Momma, I love you. Bye Momma, I love you.”

Michael and Ally made it out of the ordeal without a scratch.

Although their grandparents home was damaged, the Gammels’ Tupelo house was not affected.